What appeared to be an open and shut case is now being questioned. Both her white police officer fiancé, Jimmy Finnell, and the African American man now on death row for her murder, Rodney Reed, are legitimate suspects. (They both went to prison since Stacey’s death.)
Stacey Stites was a 19-year-old resident of Giddings, Texas. Stacey was found dead on April 23, 1996. Police had received a call at 3:11 PM that her unidentified body had been discovered in bushes near a dirt road behind Bastrop High School in Bastrop, Texas. Her body had been discarded along a rural Bastrop county road, in the Lost Pines Forest. A pickup truck that belonged to Stites' fiancé (that Stacey regularly drove to work), had been found earlier, parked at the school nearby. The zipper on her pants was broken; her shirt was removed; strangulation markings ringed her neck. The authorities (at the time) determined that Stites had been beaten, sodomized, and raped before being strangled to death with her own belt sometime between 3:00 and 5:00 AM. When discovered in the bushes, Stites was wearing a black bra and jeans. Part of the belt that had been used to kill her was found near her body, and the other part of the belt was found near the truck. Her body had been partially burned, and her shirt was found nearby. A couple of Busch beer cans were found near the body.
Stacey Stites was living in Giddings with her fiancé, local police officer Jimmy Finnell, whom she was scheduled to marry in three weeks. Stacey had been working the early morning shift at H-E-B in Bastrop (10 miles away), to help finance her wedding. She died just 18 days shy of the big day. Her fiancé said he last saw her around 3:00 AM. Jimmy stated the couple showered together and she left for work. Bastrop High School was en route from their home in Giddings to her workplace. Stacey worked in the H-E-B produce section. When Stacey did not arrive for her 3:30 AM shift, the store called her mother, and her mother called the police. H-E-B offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the capture of her killer, but it went unclaimed. Stacey Stites was buried in her hometown of Corpus Christi on April 26, 1996. Her brother never recovered from her death and committed suicide in 1997. Stacey had a daughter at age 15, and through her church adopted the baby out to a couple through an open adoption. Her daughter, Demi Nugent (now an adult), stated with regard to the investigation into her mother’s murder, “I just want it to be over, I don’t want it to be on the news anymore. I don’t want it to be thrown in my face constantly, I just want her to be known as the person that she was. A beautiful, loving person… I want a story about her, that’s what I want to see… how she’s the victim.” she said. “I have her smile, I am pretty much her, with a little bit of differences.” she smiled. Demi admitted the similarities she shares with her mother make her feel close to Stacey. She even named her daughter Stacey Lee, as a way to honor her mother’s memory. Demi struggles to find peace, amidst Rodney Reed's exhaustive legal proceedings. Before Rodney Reed supporters jump up and down about her comment, I want to point out she’s right. Victims and their families shouldn’t have to go through decades of court. If this would have been handled better from the onset, it would be over. It isn’t the victim’s family fault it continues. They have a right to be frustrated.
Mistakes:
On November 9, 1996. Linda Schlueter, age 19, agreed to give a ride to a man she met after stopping at a drive-up payphone at a Long's Star Mart. When she went to drop him off, he attacked her, punching her and demanding oral sex. He told her he would kill her for resisting him, but she managed to escape. The man fled the scene with her vehicle after seeing car lights approaching. Former Golden Gloves boxing champion Rodney Reed was detained by police based on Schlueter's description, and she subsequently picked him out of a photo line-up. Linda stated, "I picked him out immediately, no doubt at all."
Linda Schlueter's vehicle was found close to where Stacey Stites's pickup truck had been abandoned at Bastrop High School. Local law enforcement already had Reed's DNA on file from an investigation into an alleged rape in of a woman with intellectual disabilities. Subsequently, a comparison was made. The DNA extracted from sperm found in Stites and saliva found on her chest matched to Reed. The police department had been familiar with Rodney Reed because of prior arrests. A woman reported Rodney Reed sexually and physically assaulted her. Rodney Reed was acquitted of this assault. Reed’s attorney stated the woman was in a consensual relationship with Reed, but was trying to hide the relationship because he was African American. Reed stated the woman had insulted him after they had sex, and that’s why he hit her. It is significant that he was acquitted. The case was used as part of showing his level of danger when he was given the death penalty. Even though I can’t defend Reed’s hitting her, an acquitted crime shouldn’t contribute to the level of one’s sentence. Rodney Reed was officially charged with the murder of Stacey Stites on April 4, 1997, and held without bond. At the time, he was already in jail on an unrelated charge. Reed’s DNA also matched two previously unsolved rapes, including the rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1989. The other rape was of a woman along the railroad tracks just six months prior to Stacey’s murder.
The 12-year-old girl reported Reed had bitten her during the rape several times. She was unable to identify her attacker. The DNA matched Rodney Reed. Once again, I want to emphasize, regardless of your opinion on who killed Stacey, don’t attack the victims. When I looked online at this case, I saw a number of notes describing one of these two victims as dishonest. Remember they didn’t lie about anything. They had been raped. They said they couldn’t identify their assailant. The DNA connected the rapes to Rodney Reed. The victims had nothing to do with that.
When Rodney Reed was questioned about his DNA being matched to Stacey, he claimed he had never met Stacey Stites. Stacey’s truck is found a half mile from Rodney Reed’s home. By the time court started, Rodney Reed was reporting he had a consenting sexual relationship with Stacey Stites. At the time of the initial court date, no one close to Stacey reported ever seeing Stacey with Rodney. Rodney’s defense attorney stated that he talked to two people who had seen Stacey and Rodney together, but they ultimately were not available to testify. Rodney was convicted of murder and given the death penalty. Being it was a death penalty case, the Innocence Project decided to take a look at it, approaching the case with the understanding Reed’s claims seem far-fetched. They found it interesting that the original suspect, police officer Jimmy Finnell, had failed two polygraphs regarding the murder of Stacey and then lawyered up. Finnell was asked directly if he strangled her and failed. Jimmy’s home was never searched. The argument by investigators was that if Jimmy was guilty, the time frame didn’t work, because the initial medical examiner’s report stated Stacey was killed after 3:00 A.M.
A friend of Rodney Reed’s had stated that he and Rodney were pulled over three weeks before her murder, by officer Jimmy Finnell, and Rodney was warned to stay away from Stacey. The Innocence Project wanted to know if there was any evidence of this conversation in Jimmy’s interrogation. They found that all of the records, recordings and notes related to Jimmy’s interrogation had been destroyed. (He had been interrogated several times.)
The Waters continue to Muddy: Pam Duncan began dating Police Officer Jimmy Fennell just three months after Stacey’s murder. Pam complained to police that when she tried to break off their relationship, Jimmy began to stalk and threaten her. She described Fennell as “possessive and jealous,” and would harass men he thought were “flirting” with her. After the breakup, she said that he “stalked me for months,” driving by her house “night after night” shining a spotlight through the windows, or standing outside screaming at her, “calling me a ‘bitch’” and other names. She was so frightened that she finally filed a police report, “and another officer came by and told me they would make sure he left me alone,” she said. But when a friend later went to the police station in search of the report, she said, “they couldn’t find it.” Reports alleging sexual harassment by Finnell as an officer come in. As I stated with Reed acquittal earlier, it’s important to note that they didn’t lead to any action against Finnell. Reasonable Doubt:
Connie Lear called the police after she and her partner had a domestic argument. After her partner was arrested, Jimmy Finnell drove Connie to a rural area, put a gun to her head and raped her. He warned her to never tell anyone or he’d come back and kill her. When she returned home, she had the courage to report the incident to the police. They sent Jimmy Finnell to her home. Finnell’s partner took Connie’s phone and hung up on 911. The partner forced her to deny the rape, and she was arrested for public drunkenness. However, once she was in jail, people started listening and charges came forth against Finnell. Jimmy Finnell pled guilty to raping her and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Finnell was released in 2018.
Getting back to Rodney Reed: Why did Rodney Reed deny having a sexual relationship with the victim if it was consensual? Stacey was engaged to a white police officer who clearly felt he was above the law. The medical examiner for the defense, Dr. Baden, claimed there was no evidence that Stacey Stites had been sexually assaulted, supporting Reed’s claim the sex was consenting. Dr. Baden told the court that there was no sign of forced entry — blood, tears, bruises. Instead Dr. Baden claims that the medical examiner at the time, Dr. Roberto Bayardo, simply got it wrong when he confused a normal body degradation with signs of a sexual assault. Here is where it really gets interesting. The original medical examiner, Dr. Bayardo, wrote a letter to the court stating that he did not have all the information at the time of the 1996 investigation and he himself no longer believes Stacey Stites was sexually assaulted.
Kevin Gannon, retired New York City Investigator, was asked by The Innocence Project to re-look at the film of the murder scene. Immediately, Gannon noticed the seatbelt in Stacey’s vehicle was still connected. It is a common practice for police officers leave the seat belt connected and sit on it, so they can escape the vehicle quickly. It was reported Stacey chewed on her fingernails. Stacey’s fingernails were clipped. (DNA under fingernails is often used in investigations.) Stacey’s clothing was all intact, and the body’s position appeared to be staged. Blood had settled on the top of Stacey’s body. This suggested she was face down for a period, after death, before she was laid face up. The video of the body at the crime scene showed the body was limp, which means the period of rigor mortis had passed. If the original timeline would have been correct, her body would still be in the stiff state of rigor mortis. After reviewing Gannon’s thoughts, the medical experts agreed that Stacey died hours before 3:00 A.M.--the timeline that placed Rodney Reed at the scene. The medical experts stated that Stacey much more likely died at 11:00 p.m. the previous night, when she was home with Jimmy Finnell.
Kim Kardashian West has visited Rodney Reed in prison and repeatedly supported his right to a new trial. (Not this means anything significant. Just one more odd piece thrown into the mix.)
The former Bastrup Chief of Police stated, “Jimmy Finnell is a bad cop, but if we had evidence that could convict him, we would have.” The prosecutor pointed out that Rodney Reed was caught after he attempted to commit “another rape.” In addition, there is DNA evidence linking Reed to two additional rapes. Stacey’s sisters believe Rodney Reed killed Stacey and has further desecrated her name by his story.
The Innocence Project would like people to consider the following information regarding the conviction of Rodney Reed.
A piece I struggle with is Finnell’s later report that they showered together before she went to work at 3:00 a.m. While it’s certainly possible, I have a hard time when things are neatly wrapped up. If she showered just before she left, Reed’s saliva on her chest could only have been put there after she left home. Do I believe either Rodney Reed or Jimmy Finnell are good people? No. But I also believe people should be incarcerated for crimes they are guilty of. The mistakes made early in the investigation of Stacey Stites murder are difficult, if not impossible, to overcome. Stacey Stites was a decent person who encountered two problematic men, and one of them caused her demise. God Bless Stacey and her family and best wishes to all of the victims in this story. Be kind to people. You have no idea what they’ve been through. Thanks for listening, Frank
40 Comments
Gloria
12/12/2020 12:22:00 am
I'm watching the 20/20 episode from Friday night, 12/11/2020, that is about Stacey. Living in East Texas, this case has always been of interest to me. Very disturbing case.
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12/12/2020 06:00:13 am
Gloria,
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Tony Presley
12/20/2020 06:23:33 am
Rigor mortis can be tricky with heat involved
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12/29/2020 08:10:25 am
Tony,
Charles
1/26/2021 10:51:51 am
True and jimmy is a piece of shit also
Heather Tinsley
5/25/2021 10:52:41 am
Rodney Reed is a terrible human being and a waste of air but I don't believe he committed this crime. Jimmy Finnel did and was the last person to see her alive.
Pat haynes
12/12/2020 01:58:48 pm
I think an innocent man is in jail..i think the fiance did it,,so glad i found this,,i watched it last night,but had fallen asleep before the ending.. why cant people break off their relationships instead of murdering people. Great article..why wasnt she able to just break it off with this guy,why would she go through marrying him.Weird they buried her in her wedding dress..
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12/12/2020 02:48:18 pm
Pat,
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12/12/2020 02:51:56 pm
By the way, if you like this blog, You'll find my books interesting as they are based on true crime cases. I've tried to keep the facts with the cases accurate, while the relationship issues (while based on some true interactions) are the fiction part of the stories. Thank you for your comments! Take care!
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6/3/2021 05:49:07 pm
Pam,
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Martin Clifford
12/29/2020 05:51:19 am
I find it hard to believe a case can get so botched up. Being a cop it makes me sick. That being said, a LOT has changed in evidence handling since 2001 when I started. So that’s a part of it. As you stated, neither is innocent, one may have committed this crime. It also may have been someone completely different. I gotta say, with the shadows in the investigation, evidence, and the case as a whole, you can’t put someone to death unless you’re 100% certain. Very good article!!
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Dawn Knight
1/30/2022 03:51:30 pm
Very well said. Agreed.
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12/29/2020 08:17:57 am
Martin,
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Wow, what a mess. I do feel sad for the daughter, the men, not so much. If he is innocent of the murder than death penalty is incorrect, maybe by now he has served his time for the rapes though? This is my first time hearing of this case, glad I don’t have to sort it out cause it’s a train wreck. Is Finnell still alive and a cop? Will they reopen the murder investigation and handle it properly or is it too late? Hope justice is served for all.
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Desiree
1/21/2021 07:18:16 am
My thoughts exactly, Laura. Rodney had multiple accounts of rape. Has he completed serving those sentences? I feel like rapists get off to easily. My friend was raped and he only got two years, what a joke.
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1/21/2021 07:48:43 am
Desiree, 1/21/2021 07:42:47 am
Laura,
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Desiree
1/21/2021 08:03:04 am
Hi Frank, 6/3/2021 05:52:14 pm
Laura,
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Rhonda
1/21/2021 12:47:04 pm
Is Reed a fully innocent person? Nope not at all. Do I believe he killed Stacey? Nope not at all. I believe Jimmy did it. I cant even believe the evidence against Jimmy was so mishandled!
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6/3/2021 05:53:46 pm
Rhonda,
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Hi there
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4/13/2021 07:29:42 am
Jentry,
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Heather
7/13/2021 06:57:50 pm
Reed’s alibi was, I believe, named Chris Aldridge. If I remember correctly, they were hanging out near Reed's and split up around 4:45 am to get ready for work. They went back up to go to work around 1.5 hours later. Several witnesses were not allowed to testify by the judge. Some were considered unreliable bc they were relatives or bc they had minor drug offenses.
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Jeh Ovah
4/13/2021 03:19:30 pm
What were the details of Rodney and Stacy's relationship? None of this makes it into the reporting of the case. At first he said he didn't know her then he says they were having an affair. Was he able to provide any details about her that confirmed the relationship? I feel this is something that is omitted from the reporting of the trial.
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6/3/2021 05:56:50 pm
Details are lacking, beyond some reports that only were made years later. Those close to Stacey do not believe Rodney and Stacey had a relationship.
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Malenroh
6/3/2021 05:07:58 pm
Rodney lied to police, was identified by numerous other women as a serial sexual predator who raped and beat them. He's no frikken angel. Sexual predators don't stop. They need to be kept away from others.
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7/13/2021 07:48:44 pm
Thank you for the additional information. The tragedy that gets lost in the arguing is that a wonderful person lost her life at the hands of a narcissistic jerk. It is sad that the uncertainty has lead to false allegations and a lack of trust.
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Allan Ivey
7/16/2021 11:16:28 am
I worked with Jimmy Fennell s cousin in 1997. He grew up with Jimmy living nearby . He made the comment at work that Jimmy was a mean lying cruel person! he had gotten away with criminal mischief his entire life before becoming a police officer. His statement was “He would not be a bit surprised if Jimmy had killed her for sleeping with a black man”.
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Adele Steenkamp
8/9/2021 07:47:57 am
I believe the fiance did it. Just from reading up on the case. I do however believe Rodney Reed must stay in prison for as long as possible for the people he did rape.
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Dawn Knight
1/29/2022 09:48:23 am
This case could have been easily solved, yet the system is just too corrupt to allow that to happen. It’s extremely sad for the family, and especially the victim in Stacey Stites.
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1/29/2022 12:23:36 pm
Dawn,
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Dawn Knight
1/30/2022 11:47:38 am
Hi Frank,
Heather
6/12/2022 10:35:18 am
Frank- is Black and Blue based off this crime?
Dawn Knight
1/30/2022 11:38:25 am
(Continued):
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Heather
6/12/2022 10:48:19 am
Hi Dawn
Leslie Harper
6/11/2022 01:06:22 pm
The husband Jimmy definitely killed Stacey. He should have never been freed. He will rape another person and kill again.
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Heather
6/12/2022 10:30:56 am
Reed would have to be convicted of those crimes first. My understanding is that the state decided not to pursue the charges bc the murder conviction and death sentence is the highest penalty he could receive.
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6/12/2022 11:47:44 am
Heather,
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
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